To Save Her
by countertiger-x
Summary: AU fic. Phoebe goes on to be Queen of the Underworld, and Paige, Leo and Piper struggle to move on and meet their new destiny. Their lives are different but somewhat more cheerful. !CHAP.4! The Seer reveals her plan for Phoebe and Cole. Please R&R!
1. PART 1 : Chapter 1

**To Save Her**

_written by : countertigerx (start: 6/28/04)_

**A/N:** Hope you like this fic, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. My birthday's coming up!!! Err......more like 2 months more, but reviews make great gifts!! This is only the first "part". There are going to be three parts, each with a different time frame, but all are part of the same story!!!

......and I'm sorry I had to kill Cole.

cries in shame __

**Summary:** A/U fic. Starts around Season 4. Instead of going to the all the way to the alter to be intiated in as the Source, Cole sacrifices himself to save Phoebe from turning evil. He unfortunately dies in the process, and Phoebe with no choice and persuasion of the Seer, still becomes Queen of the Underworld with her baby still inside of her. Piper, Paige and Leo's failure to bring Phoebe back causes a huge impact in their lives, and they too also have no choice but to move on.

**Diclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of the characters, except for those in future chapters that are not recognized.

**Part 1, New Beginnings:_ Chapter 1_**

_(From "We're Off to See the Wizard")_

Cole paced back and forth in front of the old and gray wizard. The wizard flipped through the pages of the black and evil grimoir, with a kind of hunger in his eyes, the hunger for more power. Cole glanced at the old man and saw how power hungry he was and shook his head for he knew that the wizard would make such a terrible leader of the underworld with the Source's powers. But it was okay for him somehow.

Because he had Phoebe.

Cole's heart finally warmed up after Phoebe's unconditional love and he reminded himself that he was doing this for her. Of course the Source still lived in him, and absolutely commanded him not to proceed with his actions. There was a war raging inside of his body, mentally and physically.

Cole's finally gained his strength from Phoebe's love to overpower the Source and to be in control of his own actions and his own love. Although he was in control, the Source still fought him off, screaming and bellowing inside the depths of his mind and fighting to break free inside of his chest but nothing right now could stop Cole from what he was about to do.

"How much longer?" Cole asked, impatiently, feeling somewhat weak and overwhelmed. Since Phoebe had found out he was the Source, and she and her sisters had tried to stop him from proceeding to the coronation, everything had gotten so unorganized and out of hand. But one thing Cole couldn't get out of his mind was Phoebe's face as soon as she touched and received that premonition. Of course Cole knew she would find out sometime, that it wasn't something you could keep a secret forever. I mean, when you're the Source of all evil and leader of the underworld and all that is evil, the Charmed ones, the greatest power of good of all time are bound to notice when they want to cut your head off.

But Phoebe's face looked at him like he was a stranger, and had felt the pain of all the deception and the lies that he had caused her. Cole couldn't take it anymore, and his heart finally broke through the evil chains and barriers the source had over him and took advantage of his own actions.

"Give me a break, will you, this is tricky stuff. It'd be a lot easier if I could do this in friendlier confines." the wizard replied bitterly. Cole glared at him, wondering how this wizard could be so careless and ungreatful. You'd think that being in line for unstoppable power makes you more apprecitive of your power and your surroundings.

"There are no friendly confines, not anymore. This had better work or youll be joining the rest of your kind and not in the way you hoped for." Cole spat out at the wizard, his voice revealing the hatred and regret of the Source. The wizard glanced up from his work and glared at Cole. "Little tip. Pressure's not the best moticating technique. If you wanna lose the Source's powers, don't rush me."

Cole felt the urge to hurl a fireball at the wizard, since his sarcasm was getting way to annoying but he knew that if he released too much anger and hate and left himself off guard, the Source would once again take over and he would be a mere voice inside of his head. "Fine, but just so we're clear, once you get the Source's powers I never hear from you again."

The wizard lit some candles on the floor and looked up at him. "Understood. Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you so willing to do this?"

Cole looked up at the wizard and stopped his pacing. He saw the same look in the wizard's eyes as he saw before, the curiosity to know what has gotten into the head of the Source of all evil. The wizard looked as if he were getting ready to create an illusion to escape, just in case this was some kind of trick but Cole only sighed. "I lost someone I love and I want her back. That's all you need to know."

"Love? The Source can love."

"Just keep working." Cole said, revealing a tone of disgust with the wizard. The Source couldn't love, but Cole could and because Cole accepted the power unwillingly, the love in his heart still existed and dominated throughout the Source's body and helped Cole recover from his weak state inside of the Source.

"I'm done." the wizard said. Cole looked up and walked over to the wizard. "Now, if the spell's going to work, blood needs to spill." the wizard continued. The wizard picked up a dagger from the bookstand and Cole held his arm out so willingly. The wizard cut Cole's arm slowly, and blood slowly dripped down from his arm to the grimoir.

"Now me."

The wizard pulled up his own sleeve and cut his own blood onto the grimoir and smoke started to rise from the book. Cole closed his eyes, wanting the ceremony to be over already, so he could go back to Phoebe and hopefully they could raise their child in peace. Their child was the biggest symbol of their love, and even though the conception was planned and involved cheat and deception, Cole was still there with his love and knew inside of his heart that the child inside of Phoebe was his, not the Source's.

"Holus into exitus omne. Holus into exitus omne." the wizard started to chant. Cole shut his eyes tighter, feeling the pain and screams of the Source inside of him begging him to stop the ceremony but Cole concentrated on getting Phoebe's love at the end of it.

"Holus into exitus omne!! Holus into exitus omne!!"

Cole and the wizard both started to rise and they both started to glow a bright white light. Cole took deep breaths, waiting for the Source's power to be taken out of him. The wizard extended his hand towards Cole and a shadow that held the Source's power started to rise out of Cole, and Cole screamed feeling the pain of the power drainage.

A shadow of the Source's power appeared to be escaping from Cole's body and the wizard could feel the power slowly coming towards him. Cole almost smiled, forgetting his uncontrollable pain tearing out of his flesh.

_'Phoebe.....we'll be okay now.....' _Cole thought.

Suddenly, Cole felt the power half way out of him jolt right back into his chest and he fell to the ground. Opening his eyes just a little bit, he saw the wizard get hit by a stream of fire and he exploded into an absolute nothing.

"No...." Cole hissed, disappointed. He rolled over and saw Phoebe with her arm extended towards to where the wizard was. Cole took a final breath and felt as if he were losing himself. He then fell into an everlasting reality of darkness.

The Source had taken over his body once more.

* * *

"Cole is the source." Phoebe whispered. She said it with such acceptance. She felt as if she should have already known that Cole had turned back to evil. She had definitely sensed a big change in him since they had vanquished the last source, when Cole had absorbed the hollow.

Cole had gotten more obscure and protective. Before, when he was still a mortal, he had been more cautious about his own safety, but then it seemed as he...had a little more confidence into himself. Not to mention, he had gotten more seductive than he was before.

Was that what their love was then? Lust? With all the cheat and deception, Phoebe didn't know what to think but inside she was heartbroken and scared. She touched her stomach lightly, feeling afraid for their son, wondering what would happen now that Cole was evil.

"Yes." the Seer said. Phoebe looked away and started to pace around their dark, cave like surroundings. Having the Seer repeat the facts to her seemed to confirm that it was real.

_'So it's true.' _Phoebe thought. _'Cole is truly evil....'_

"And he needs your help if he hopes to survive." the Seer continued. "He needs your love. You can't keep fighting it. The maternal bond is too strong, listen to your body, Phoebe. Listen to your unborn son. He takes after his father."

Phoebe felt angry, at Cole and herself. She hated herself for being so foolish and naive that all this was happening under her nose, and she had been in denial of it all. She glanced to the Seer. She had a convincing look, but Phoebe still didn't want to hear the Seer's words. What did the Seer think she was....stupid? She didn't want to listen to her lies anymore.....her lies of evil. She wasn't going to fall for anything.

"His father lied to me...." she whispered. She took a deep breath and turned away from the Seer's deep eyes. The Seer then walked up closer to Phoebe.

"He never lied about his feelings for you. And despite my best efforts, he never stopped loving you." She said. Phoebe's head jerked up, as if she had heard what she had wanted to hear. Her mixed emotions suddenly started to come back to her. The Seer smiled, and knew that she was getting to Phoebe. She touched Phoebe's stomach lightly.

"Oh, your son was conceived in love, you know that. It's time to stop fighting it."

Phoebe closed her eyes, and couldn't think clearly. She was terribly confused with everything, but mostly confused with herself. Just seconds ago, she was telling herself not to believe anything the Seer was saying, but how could the Seer have gotten through to her that easily. She didn't want to give in, but as the Seer touched her stomach, she began to think about her son.

"It's time to embrace your new family, your new destiny......" the Seer continued.

_'New family, new destiny .....'_ Phoebe repeated mentally. Could this really be history repeating itself? Cole had been evil, but still had fallen in love with Phoebe. She accepted his love, even if it came from a demon and later, Cole had sacrificed himself to turn to Phoebe's world of "good." Maybe it was her turn to sacrifice for Cole, and to turn to evil. Maybe it was her destiny.

"......otherwise Cole and your son will die."

Phoebe's head jerked up, and she turned to face the Seer. She shot a look of disbelief and shock towards the Seer. The Seer nodded to confirm her premonition.

"All of demondon will rise up against them to destroy them.....and you." the Seer stated.

Phoebe's heart fell. Something inside of her was telling her that it was too late. She had already gotten herself too involved to back out now. She was in danger, more importantly her son and her husband were in danger. It was too late to force herself to turn her back on Cole's love.

_'This is my destiny. It has to be. I have to sacrifice myself to save Cole and our son.'_ Phoebe thought. She nodded towards the Seer.

The Seer slowly smiled.

_'Perfect.' _she thought, as she held her hand out to Phoebe.

Phoebe took her hand, and they both disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

"Maybe you should go back down to the underworld." Piper said, facing Leo. She rubbed her forehead, showing apparent signs of worry. The attic was quiet, except for the faint sound of Paige swinging the scrying crystal around the map of San Francisco.

Leo stared at Piper, knowing inside of him that the whole thing was useless. From the minute that Phoebe demonstrated her newfound fire power, he had figured it all out. Cole had already been evil when he and Phoebe conceived their child, and the child inside of Phoebe was turning her into the demon she was starting to become.

He knew that even if Cole was a demon, there was a higher probability that Phoebe may choose Cole over "good" because of their unborn child. After Phoebe had shimmered out, Leo gained doubt that Phoebe would be coming back. Something inside of him was keeping him from wanting to try and find and save Phoebe.

"I already tried......I-I can't sense her anywhere...." Leo said, hestitantly.

He looked at Piper, knowing that Piper never gave up hope on saving one of her sisters. Paige was the same as Piper. Paige's eyes were set on the map, and she was focused on finding Phoebe.

Piper stopped to think for a moment. Leo could see she was desperate for an answer, and she was desperate to save Phoebe from anything that was happening. All three of them didn't really know what to expect with Phoebe and Cole now that both of them showed demonic abilities.

"She's gotta be somewhere! Doesn't she??" Piper said, already anxious.

The sound of a falling crystal startled Piper and Leo. They both turned towards the scrying table where Paige sat. The crystal had found Phoebe and was pointing to somewhere on the map.

"Got her." Paige whispered. Piper and Leo stared at Paige in silence, waiting for Paige to find the location. "She's at.....the penthouse."

Leo closed his eyes and he didn't have to sense anything to know that something terrible was about to happen.

_**To be continued....stay tuned for Chapter 2 of Part 1.** _

**A/N:** Really hoped people read and liked it!


	2. Without A Doubt

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews everyone. I'm glad that people liked where the story was going. Again, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. On with the show...!

**Summary:** A/U fic. Starts around Season 4. Instead of going to the all the way to the alter to be intiated in as the Source, Cole sacrifices himself to save Phoebe from turning evil. He unfortunately dies in the process, and Phoebe with no choice and persuasion of the Seer, still becomes Queen of the Underworld with her baby still inside of her. Piper, Paige and Leo's failure to bring Phoebe back causes a huge impact in their lives, and they too also have no choice but to move on.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of the characters, except for those in future chapters that are not recognized. I also don't own most of the dialogue in the first two chapters, because they were taken from the original script.

**Part 1, New Beginnings:**_**Chapter 2 - "Without a Doubt**"_

_(From "We're Off to See the Wizard")_

Phoebe arrived at Cole's apartment shortly after she took the Seer's hand. She found the glowing figures of the old wizard and her husband floating in the air. The bright light was almost too much for her eyes, and she didn't understand what was going on between Cole and the wizard. With the situation between the wizard and the Source, Phoebe's initial thought was that Cole was in danger.

"Save him. For your son." The Seer whispered into Phoebe's ear, as they both watched. The Seer's words confirmed Phoebe's suspicion and her heart was urging her to save Cole from whatever danger the wizard was putting him through.

She looked down at her palm, wondering what she should feel in order to trigger her power. As she thought of the urgency to save Cole, she remembered that the trigger to all demonic powers was hatred and anger. There wasn't any problem as she extended her hand towards the wizard, closed her eyes, and felt hot flames shoot out of her palm.

The stream of fire hit the wizard instantly and destroyed him before he knew what was happening. The luminous glow from Cole's body disappeared and left the penthouse dark and grim. Candles around the apartment barely lit up the room. Cole's body fell heavily onto the ground. Phoebe was too busy rushing over to help Cole to notice the Seer's accomplished smile.

Phoebe kneeled down to move Cole's head onto her lap. She ran her hand gently through his hair, and around his cheek, hoping it would give him comfort. She kissed him lightly on the head.

Cole was too busy fighting a war raging on inside his body to wake up quickly to Phoebe. His soul was slowly slipping into darkness as the Source was in control of most of his body. He was not willing to give up easily, and he could feel himself fighting to stay alive in his head. Cole gained strength to open his eyes. As Phoebe came into sight, the numbness of his heart wore away, and Cole's human side managed to take over.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe whispered.

Cole blinked, confused on what had happened. The last thing he remembered, was that he had turned his power over to the wizard. Could it be that the ceremony had gone through without error? Was his power now in the hands of the wizard?

"What happened? What did you do....?" Cole said, weakly.

"I vanquished him." Phoebe said, bluntly. As Phoebe smiled a bit, thinking she had done a good thing, Cole closed his eyes in pain.

'_Of course...'_ he thought. He knew that the Source was still inside him and he could feel it clearly. He could feel himself getting weaker by the minute. It was rare that Cole could hold on for this long and he knew it wouldn't be much longer. Cole was so impotent, he felt control over his body slipping away quickly. The fact that all hope for Phoebe and himself to be saved was gone, didn't help his strength.

"No......no....." Cole shook his head. The irony of the situation sickened him. Sadness fell upon him as he look into Phoebe's eyes. "He was our last chance....." he whispered.

Phoebe stared at Cole, pondering about what he meant. _'Last chance for what.....?' _she thought.

Curiosity struck her mind about what had happened between Cole and the wizard. Could it be that Cole had some kind of deal with the wizard? She thought about the possibility of a plan that Cole had to give up his powers to the power-hungry wizard. But inside, she knew that it was too late for that, and that she still had a way to save herself and Cole.

"No........it wasn't." she said.

Cole was confused on what she meant but both of them were startled as they heard someone suddenly come in. Phoebe turned around and saw Paige, Piper and Leo orb into the apartment together.

* * *

Leo orbed into the penthouse, holding Piper's hand tightly. Paige orbed in a second behind Leo. All three were shocked at what they saw happening: Phoebe and Cole lay on the floor in the middle of what looked like a ceremonial circle and the evil grimoir on a book stand beside them. All three of them had mixed thoughts. Both Piper and Paige felt relieved, and thought that Phoebe was in danger. Leo glanced at Phoebe, Cole and the grimoir all together, and returned to his suspicion of Phoebe choosing evil and Cole over her sisters.

"Phoebe, thank god we found you." said Paige, breaking the beat of silence between them. Phoebe stared at her sisters and her brother in law, then glanced back at her husband. As she looked at her family, it didn't occur to her that her decision to save Cole and their son was a matter of choosing sides. But nothing made her think twice about her decision. Her heart was telling her to save Cole.

Phoebe's silence worried Leo about his suspicion. He looked at Phoebe, sensing that she was ACTUALLY choosing sides between her sisters, her husband of evil and her destiny. _'No.....Phoebe, no. Don't take that side. Don't make that choice.....please, Phoebe.......'_ Leo thought as he stared towards Phoebe.

Paige and Piper did not expect anything of the sort. They were expecting their sister to run to them for savior, then expected her to go back home with them to find a way to vanquish her husband. The thought of her choosing Cole over them hadn't even crossed their minds.

"Phoebe.....?" said Piper, confused on why she wasn't moving.

Phoebe took a deep breath and looked down at Cole. "It's too late." she said with certainty. Piper, Paige and Leo continued to stare at her.

"What do you mean......What are you talking about???" Leo said, still in disbelief that she was choosing Cole. Piper and Paige were taking time to figure everything out, and were trying to get what exactly Phoebe was doing.

Phoebe looked down at Cole, and he seemed to be okay. She helped him to his feet, and walked over to grimoir. Cole watched Phoebe lay her hands on the grimoir and watched her pick it up. Cole was confused at first, but as Phoebe looked into his eyes as she picked up the book, he finally understood. Phoebe was choosing be with him, and she was choosing to be by his side as he was coronated as the Source. His human side stayed in confusion while the Source in him took advantage of the situation. Cole smiled at Phoebe.

Phoebe returned a reassuring smile to Cole, mentally reminding him that everything would be alright. A voice inside Cole was yelling inside him to stop Phoebe from her decision. It was telling him that Phoebe would never survive in the underworld, and that he needed to save her from her doom. The Source was killing that voice inside of him, and was telling him that he and Phoebe would live happily as the rulers of the underworld.

Cole as her king, and Phoebe as his queen.

As Phoebe and Cole had their moment together, Paige and Leo stared horrifically at Phoebe's hands on the grimoir. Leo had lost his faith, and couldn't believe his eyes.

"Hey......I thought only......evil could touch that book." said Paige, scared on what Phoebe's response would be.

Phoebe took her eyes off Cole's, and turned to face Paige. She didn't want to see her sisters this way, because she knew they would be furious, and hurt that she chose the other side. A little doubt formed inside of her, making her think twice about her decision. But a little movement in her stomach by her unborn son gave her all the confidence she needed. She knew she had to be strong, for Cole and her son.

"That's right." said Phoebe, boldly.

"No." gasped Paige and Leo, softly. Both of them had realized her choice. They stared at Phoebe, trying to reach her and trying to tell her to come back to their side. On the sidelines, Piper was still putting together the pieces.

"Phoebe....." she whispered. "What's going on here.....?"

Phoebe's heart broke at the sound of Piper's voice. She knew that something like this wouldn't leave Piper easily. She knew Piper would be hard on herself once Phoebe was gone. Phoebe knew Piper didn't do well under the circumstances of losing a sister. Phoebe then glanced towards Leo. For years, Leo had been the one who had made things better for her, who helped her through all her times of need. She would get through this with him, along with Paige.

_'Piper will be okay. So will Paige.....they''ll both be just fine.' _she thought.

With courage, Phoebe wrapped her hand around Cole's and held on tightly to his palm. "I'm embracing my new destiny, you guys." she said.

Leo shook his head, and decided he wouldn't let her go without a fight. "No, Phoebe. You can't! You can't choose his side. Think of what you're doing.....you're choosing EVIL!"

"No.....Leo. I'm only choosing my new family. I gave a vow that I would never leave Cole's side on our wedding day, and I need to follow that vow, for myself, for Cole and for our baby." Phoebe replied.

"Please Phoebe....." Leo pleaded.

"Don't do this!" Paige joined in.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PHOEBE?" shouted an angry and confused Piper.

Torn apart by their reactions, Phoebe heavily sighed. Meanwhile, Cole glanced back and forth on what was happening between the sisters. He looked at Phoebe, and realized that a part of her didn't want to choose evil. Cole's chest started to warm up again, his intentions being only for Phoebe's happiness. He loved Phoebe too much to force her to make the wrong choice. But before he could say anything, Phoebe tightened her grip on his hand.

"I'm sorry......please, take care, all of you. And......bye." she whispered. In a matter of seconds, Phoebe and Cole both felt themselves disappearing within intense, raging flames.

* * *

Piper could barely believe her eyes. Paige couldn't believe what she heard. Leo scuffed his face in frustration. What was going to happen now?? To Phoebe? To Paige and Piper?? To the Power of Three? There was a beat of silence, due to the shock all three of them had fallen into.

"......what.....the hell......was THAT??" Piper finally spoke.

Piper, Paige and Leo glanced at each other, searching for an answer. Before Paige or Leo were able to say a word, another voice was present.

"That was the Source. And.......his queen."

The three abruptly turned around to see The Seer standing anterior to them. Her hands were folded, buried inside her long, red robe. A huge, accomplished grin was spread across her dark face. Paige and Piper seemed pretty shocked to see her, but Leo didn't seem as surprised as the girls were.

Inside, something was telling him that he always should have known that the Seer was involved in this. She was there from the start, from when Cole had absorbed the hollow. He should have known that she was trouble from the start. But he knew he couldn't have done anything to stop it. Everyone was blinded from the truth about Cole.

"YOU DID THIS!!! YOU POISONED HER!!!" yelled Piper, who was filled with anger and hate. Paige shared the same emotion.

"Maybe we should just vanquish you!" Paige exclaimed, balling up a fist.

The Seer chuckled quite loudly, and her grin grew wider. Paige and Piper grew disgusted with the Seer. They didn't understand her jolly mood, and all that was in their minds were ways to destroy the demon.

"What's so funny??? Are you scared??" said Paige.

The Seer stopped chuckling and only smirked at Piper, Paige and Leo. "You can't vanquish me." she said simply.

"What?" Piper responded with more confusion.

"You can't vanquish me.........without the Power of Three." The Seer continued. The sound of her poisonous cackle filled the room, as she flamed out of the penthouse. Leo's face fell as the Seer's words brought his fear to life.

**The Power of Three was _broken._**

Paige and Piper finally caught on, and their faces turned extremely pale. The same question ran through the minds of all three. What was going to happen now?

" I can't believe this is happening." said Paige.

"We can't LET this happen. We need to get Phoebe BACK." Piper said, not willing to give up without a fight. Leo was the only one in high doubt. He turned back to his thoughts of Phoebe, who he knew would never give up Cole.

"Where'd she go, Leo?" Piper asked, bringing Leo's mind back to reality.

"The Seer told us that Cole and Phoebe were the Source and Queen. But we know that they have to be coronated into it first. Which means that the coronation for the new Source is still on, only now Phoebe's going to be with Cole reading from the grimoir." Leo explained.

"What does that mean? Phoebe's going to turn EVIL?" said Paige.

Leo didn't want to answer, and his silence answered Paige's question. "We can't LET her turn evil." Piper said. "Leo, orb us down to the underworld. We'll drag her home, kicking and screaming."

"There's......no way we can find the coronation site without the wizard's help from last time." Paige said. Piper shook her head, and wouldn't give up.

"I don't CARE, dammit, we can't just LEAVE her there. "

Leo walked up to Piper and held her shoulder. "Piper, right now, we don't have a choice. We'll have to find another way."

"What do you MEAN another way???" Piper said, wiggling free from Leo's hand. "What if the coronation is over then? We have to stop it NOW."

"Do you have an idea, Piper?? A plan??? Cause if you do, please share!" screamed Leo. Piper turned away.

"No....."

"Exactly." Leo replied. "We can't go down there unprepared. We need a way to find Phoebe, and we need to make a battle plan. Not only is Cole, the source of evil down there with Phoebe, but so are hundreds of demons spectating the coronation. Not to mention Phoebe with her destructive powers. With that baby inside of her, who for all we know is evil SPAWN, we can't take any chances on her turning on us too. We can't attempt to save one sister, at the risk of losing all three."

Piper knew that Leo was right and reluctantly agreed. Paige thought about what was coming up.

"Leo......do you really think she'll go through with it? Turn.......evil for good?" she asked.

Leo shook his head, not knowing how to answer. "I......I don't know." he responded. Piper and Paige couldn't help but lose a bit of hope as all three of them orbed to the manor.

_**To be continued..............stay tuned for Chapter 3 of Part 1.** _

**A/N:** I really hope you guys are still with me. Thanks for reading!!! Please.....review, so I can move on!


	3. On the Sidelines

**A/N:** You guys are great for staying with me. I don't really expect to get a lot of reviews anymore, since the Charmed part of fanfiction is HUGE. They're like a million stories getting added everyday, so it's really hard for a particular story to get read if the summary sucks and the review number does too. My summary pretty much sucks butt, but getting 1 or 2 reviews is like getting 20 for me. THANKS!

**Summary:** A/U fic. Starts around Season 4. Instead of going to the all the way to the alter to be intiated in as the Source, Cole sacrifices himself to save Phoebe from turning evil. He unfortunately dies in the process, and Phoebe with no choice and persuasion of the Seer, still becomes Queen of the Underworld with her baby still inside of her. Piper, Paige and Leo's failure to bring Phoebe back causes a huge impact in their lives, and they too also have no choice but to move on.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of the characters, except for those in future chapters that are not recognized. I also don't own most of the dialogue in the first two chapters, because they were taken from the original script.

**Part 1, New Beginnings:**_** Chapter 3 - "On the Sidelines"** _

With a tiny little sip of the coffee cup, Prue Halliwell was sold for life.

"Oh wow.....Whoa. That is REALLY good....." said Prue, putting the cup down. Sitting down at a simple café table, she sat across from her very best friend, Kevin. Kevin smirked as Prue held a shocked and satisfied reaction on her face.

"It's called a Double White Mocha Cappuccino." said Kevin, sipping a cup of his own.

"Is that even a possible combination? Isn't Mocha and Cappuccino two different kinds of coffee? And what does the double stand for?" Prue asked, trying to make light conversation.

"Do I look like a coffee expert? I was a doctor before I died. I drank the stuff, but never made it. But it's really good, isn't it?"

Prue nodded but stared at him with bulging eyes. "Do you want someone to hear you? The last thing I want to do is start a scene."

Kevin merely shrugged. "Come on, Prue. It's Chicago. The city's too windy and busy for people to actually listen to other people's conversations. Not even the service around here listens to people's requests." he said jokingly. Prue gave in to his humor and playfully laughed.

"So what's up, boss? Why exactly did you take me all the way to Chicago for a cup of coffee. With you, there's always something bigger. I'm supposed to be looking after other people. " she said, taking another sip.

Kevin nodded and folded his hands on the table. He leaned in a little bit towards Prue, and Prue did the same assuming that he was about to talk about white lighter business. Kevin moved in close, and Prue noticed his blue eyes shining with the sunlight. Along with blonde spiky hair, Kevin was quite handsome for his middle aged appearance. Of course, Prue and Kevin only thought of each other as friends.

"Prue......I've been your advisor and your caretaker for.....about a year now. Am I right?"

"Yeah......" replied Prue, not sure on which direction the conversation was heading.

"The past year, you've learned the ropes, and you've become a great white lighter. Maybe it's the fact that you are a former charmed one.....I honestly have no idea. But you have a real gift in helping people. Every assignment you've had has been baby work.....and you've never failed once. I'm real proud of you....and you've been great, not only as my pupil, but also as my friend." Kevin said.

Prue's cheeks turned a light pink. "Aw, Kev, you really know how to flatter a girl."

"Well, I've had good practice." Kevin said, laughing. "Anyway.....what I'm trying to say is that, I convinced the Elders to give you a real assignment, and they've also decided that you no longer need me monitoring your work. You can be independent."

"No......NO!!!" Prue said, shocked. "No way!!!! That's awesome! They're turning me official???"

Kevin nodded as he finished up his cappuccino. Prue let out a joyful cry. "Oh man, this is so cool!!! For a year I've just been doing like......social worker stuff. Now I'm in for REAL excitement!!! What's my assignment? Do I get to help witches battle demons? Do I get to train witches in their powers??? Do I get to kick butt in this one???" exclaimed Prue, excited about her assignment.

"Um....." responded Kevin, afraid he might disappoint Prue. "Well.....not really. Actually, I'm not even sure what you're supposed to be doing with this guy......"

Prue lost all her excitement and pouted. "That doesn't sound very adventurous at all.....So who's the charge?"

"His name is Ryan Croft."

"Croft.....like....Tomb Raider Lara Croft? Ha ha ha ha!" said Prue, laughing at her charge's name. Kevin let out a smirk.

"He comes from a really powerful line of witches. It seems that he's a rebellious one. He's the most powerful of his family, and he has a strong load of powers. He's supposed to be one of the most powerful good witches of his time and he's supposed to be going on to do great things. But he turned his back on his magical side, and doesn't want anything to do with it because of the childhood death of his mother." Kevin explained.

Prue's heart stopped, and realized her charge's story was a lot like hers. She could see why Croft turned his back on magic. Losing a parent to magic was torture.

"His family was a major contribution to good magic, but recently the last living member of his family passed away, and he's the only one left. With his family gone, you can say that there's been a rise in demonic activity here in Chicago. The Elders want you to work with him, and help him overcome his loss so he can accept his magical destiny and help mankind. The Elders are afraid that if he doesn't turn to his destiny, there could be a terrible imbalance in good and evil magic." Kevin continued.

"How.....exactly am I supposed to do that?" Prue asked, not having any ideas coming to mind.

Kevin shrugged. "I already said that I had no idea what you're supposed to do with this guy. In my point of view, if the guy hasn't excepted his destiny for over 17 years, he needs a LOT of talking to, to change his mind."

Prue rolled her eyes. "Great.....a talking assignment. I'm soooooo happy. " she said, sarcastically.

Kevin gave her a reassuring look. "Look Prue.....I know it's nothing like being a charmed one, and I know you miss the adventure in fighting demons and saving innocents, but this is all I can get you right now. Heck, maybe you'll encounter a few demons in spending time with this guy. Even though he doesn't fight evil, he's still a target to many demons."

"Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to do anything but stand on the sidelines and heal!!!" said Prue, angrily.

"Well........" Kevin said, slyly. Prue looked up at him.

"What.......you're hiding something from me, aren't you Kevin??? What are you hiding??"

"You can't.....SAY anything....."

"What is it??"

"If someone asks, then I didn't tell you anything alright....."

"COME ON!!!"

"Okay, okay!!" Kevin said, sighing. "The Elders mentioned that IF you did well with this assignment......they're thinking of giving you your telekinetic powers back.....since you were a charmed one and all and—"

"ARE YOU KIDDING!!!!!" Prue exclaimed. "THAT'S SO GREAT!!! I'VE MISSED MY POWERS SO MUCH!"

Prue quickly closed her mouth when she realized how loud she was. Kevin laughed out loud. "Now look who's making a scene....."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited." Prue said, smiling. "So hurry up and tell me where he is!! Give me my charge!!! Where is he? Where can I find him?"

"Well, you're in for a treat. He's right here."

Prue was a little confused at first, and looked around the café for possible men who would be Ryan. Kevin noticed and shook his head. "No, I don't mean like that." he said. He held up his coffee cup to Prue's face so she could notice the little emblem on it.

"Croft's Chicago Brew??? He OWNS this place??"

"Yep...."

"Well, at least the man has good taste in coffee."

"Every single day, he comes here and dedicates his life to the shop. As a matter of fact, he's standing right over there behind the cappuccino machine." Kevin said, pointing over to the cashier counter of the café.

Prue turned around to look at the counter. She had a hard time finding him through the bunches of people crowding around the place, but stopped breathing once she caught sight of him. Prue saw him, and thought he looked absolutely amazing. He couldn't be more than 30, had a light brown curly top and sparkling green eyes. He looked nice and muscular, and had a good height on. Despite the tacky red apron he had on, Prue fell in love with the smile he had on his face as he handed a customer a coffee cup.

"Whoa. Is he single??" Prue said, mesmerized. Kevin rolled his eyes, but Prue didn't notice because her eyes were still stuck on on, you've got more important stuff to worry about. But yea, he is."

Prue turned over to Kevin and gave a devious smile. "You're right, this will be exciting."

Kevin laughed once again, and got up from his seat. He held Prue's shoulder with his hand. "I trust you'll do the right thing. Good luck with this assignment. " he said. Kevin gave a playful wink at Prue and made her smile.

"Thanks Kev. You've done a lot for me. I owe you."

"Convince this guy to give me free coffee for a year, and we're even." he said, jokingly. He then grabbed his cup of coffee and walked out of the coffee shop.

Prue sighed and looked down at the emblem on her coffee cup. She then looked back up at gorgeous Ryan.

"Hm.....what to do now...." she whispered to herself. But all she could find herself doing, was staring at her charge behind the counter.

---

As he finished up cleaning the last of the tables in his shop, Ryan Croft finally took off his dark red apron, signaling the end of another day's work. The shop was empty, since it was already 10 o'clock, exactly an hour after the shop closed. He took one last look around the café, to check if everything was put away and if everything was clean. After he was satisfied with his work, he closed all the lights, locked the front door, and headed towards his office in the back of the shop.

There, he did his daily "end of the day" routine which included putting away his work clothes, locking up his safe and making sure everything that he needed was stored safely in his briefcase. He quickly put on his light jacket and grabbed his briefcase. He was about to exit through the back door of the shop, until he decided to take one last look at the shop.

Ryan sighed as he looked around his so called "accomplishment." He'd worked hard to start his own business and it's finally come to a point in his life where he could relax about everything and didn't really have any responsibilities to tend to. The problem was, the lifestyle wasn't working for him.

He missed the life of adventure and hard work, since it always worked as a distraction to get his mind off other things. Now he had no choice but to think.

Ryan looked around his coffee shop, and found it quiet. He was alone, not only in the shop, but in his life. He sighed, knowing that it was impossible for him to have relationships. One reason being was he was timid and shy, and no woman ever really got to see past his looks and to his heart since he never let them. The second reason was always because of magic.

You can't just tell regular mortal women about having powers on first dates. Or proposals.

Even with all his reasons, he always seemed to end up blaming himself for ending up lonely. His family was gone because he abandoned them, and he did "run away" to live on his own and to be independent. Still, he couldn't help wishing someone would come into his life and keep him company.

Another sigh escaped him, and he decided to make himself a cup of coffee for his walk home to his city apartment. As soon as he was done mixing it up, he left the shop through the back door.

The back door led out into an alley where dumps filled with garbage and other junk sat. He took a look around the alley, just in case there was some late night Chicago prowler out to try and steal his money, or a late night bounty hunter demon out to try and steal his powers. Anything was possible in the windy city. He held his coffee in his hand to keep warm as he walked out of the alley.

Just as he turned the corner, he thought he heard a noise behind him. He reacted by turning around, checking if there was anyone behind him. It turned out to be no one, and the street was deserted. He turned back around to start walking but was surprised as he suddenly walked into someone walking in front of him. The collision caused him to spill his coffee cup onto the person he bumped into.

Ryan took a minute to recover from the crash and realized the pedestrian he bumped into was a woman on the floor with coffee spilled all over herself. Ryan realized what an idiot he had been and quickly started to help her up.

"I am so sorry.....That was really stupid of me......And I got coffee all over you, I am just really—"

As he started to help the woman up and as he apologized, he suddenly stopped once he got a clear view of her face. The woman looked absolutely ravishing. She had long back hair and naturally tanned skin. Her eyes were green and looked beautiful as it shone with the moonlight. She couldn't be any older than he was, probably in her mid-thirties.

"It's okay......umm, you kind of got coffee all over my stuff too though...." she said, as she looked up at Ryan. Ryan flinched at the sound of her calm voice, and couldn't get over her beauty. She seemed a little shocked to see him, and he hoped to God that she had a little interest in him.

"Oh, gosh......I'm telling you, it's a curse of owning a coffee business. You're cursed with coffee accidents everywhere you go....." he said, trying to make their conversation humorous. The young woman responded with a small laugh, and Ryan felt relieved that she wasn't furious with him.

"You own a coffee business?" she suddenly asked, looking very interested.

Ryan smiled, and was hoping he could give off a good impression to the girl. "Yeah. It's actually the little shop on the corner behind me. Croft's Chicago Brew." he said, and he pointed to himself. "I'm the Croft."

"Well I've got to hand it to you Mr. Croft–"

"Ryan! You can call me Ryan...." said Ryan, interrupting. The young woman laughed at his reaction.

"Well, Ryan Croft. Even though it's not really a good look for my outfit, the coffee's actually keeping me warm in this windy weather. My name's Prue. Prue Halliwell." she said, smiling. Ryan was surprised at hearing her name.

_'Halliwell....'_ he thought. _'Sounds vaguely familiar....but I don't think I've ever seen this chick before.'_

"You know Prue.....my apartment's right down the block. I can get you cleaned up in a second, so you won't have to talk all the way home in those coffee-stained clothes of yours." he offered, still memorized in her smiled. Prue thought about it for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Sure.....that would be great." she replied. Ryan smiled and picked up his briefcase as the two started their way to the apartment building.

---

As she stood in Ryan Croft's bathroom, Prue had absolutely no idea what she was about to do next. She had managed to establish a "bump-in" with him, but just like all her assignments, she had no battle plan and did what she does best, which was winging it through. Although her other assignments had turned out quite nicely, Prue had never been this "undercover" with a charge before.

She closed the bathroom faucet, and gave up on trying to clean her stained clothes. She glanced into the mirror, disgusted with how badly she looked. She had never really expected to get dirty while bumping into him, and couldn't believe he invited her so openly to his apartment.

But Prue didn't mind. This charge was really _hot._

She opened the door slowly, and walked out into the living room. For a simple Chicago apartment, Ryan's was very luxurious. It had a lot of room and it seemed like Ryan was pretty loaded with his own cash. This guy would have definitely made her dating lists when she was alive.

_'Okay, Prue....focus on the charge.....geez, he is just so hot.' _thought Prue.

She walked into the kitchen, and saw him fixing a pot of coffee.

"Is that a famous blend of yours?" she asked. Ryan suddenly turned around, and seemed startled that she was there. But he seemed to be glad that she was.

"Actually.....it's just decaff. I hope you don't mind. " he said, pouring them both a cup. Prue walked towards him and sat down on the kitchen table.

"I really appreciate you helping me clean up and everything." she said, trying to make light conversation

_'Just get to know him a little bit.....make him like you, make him trust you......' _Prue thought, desperate to accomplish some kind of relationship between the two of them.

"Oh, it's really no problem. It was my fault you had to get cleaned up anyway.....Again, I really wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm such a klutz sometimes." he said, shaking his head as if he were ashamed of himself.

Prue laughed and stroked her hair nervously. Usually her people skills were great, but for some reason this guy was making her really nervous. There was an awkward silence between them as Prue searched for her words. Fortunately for her, Ryan continued the conversation.

"So....where in Chicago are you from? I usually know the faces of everyone in this neighborhood, and I don't think I've seen you around....." he said. Prue looked into his eyes and smiled. She had practiced her cover over and over in her head.

"Um.....yeah, there's a reason why you've never seen me around. It's cause I'm not really around here. I'm from......out of town, and........" said Prue, as she was starting to blank out. "Um......and I was supposed to stay with a friend of mine who lived around here, but coincidently, they're out of town too, so I'm stuck with no place to go. I was trying to look for a hotel around here, but I'm not having a lot of luck."

Ryan's eyebrows rose, and he looked really interested in Prue. His look made Prue blush, and she couldn't figure out why she was falling apart in front of her charge.

"Oh wow, you should have just said so. I know a couple great hotels in downtown Chicago, which is not too far from here. I know a couple people at the Drake who can give you discount on a suite. And you're really not going to get there by walking, so I'll just call you cab." he offered.

Prue really wanted to slap herself for blushing so much. She couldn't believe how nice Ryan was to her. How was he SO PERFECT AND NICE!!!

"I couldn't ask you to do that....."

"Of course you could."

"I really have to thank you so much, nobody's ever really been this kind to me." she said.

"Well, that's hard to believe.....you're too pretty to be ignored." he replied, chuckling.

Prue's heart fluttered and blushed a bright red. She knew it was wrong, but she was falling head over heels with the charge.

---

After a huge talk, the taxi that Ryan had called finally arrived at the apartment. Ryan couldn't stop staring at Prue as he walked her to the door. They didn't really have a "Get to know you" talk, but they talked more about things around the city. Ryan still couldn't get over how perfect she looked, and how "down-to-earth" she was.

He opened the door, and let Prue walk out. She turned around to face. His breath was taken away he saw her eyes again.

"Thanks for everything, Ryan. It was really nice to have ONE friend in the city, since all mine are out of town." she said, winking. She seemed really flushed and Ryan prayed to God that she was at least a little interested in him.

"Hey, it was the least I could do." he said, nervously smiling.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around, I guess.....Bye, and thanks." she said, smiling and turning away. She started to walk down the stairs.

Ryan was completely frozen. Something was telling him to go after her, since this could be the last chance he had to see her.

_'Make a move. MAKE A MOVE RYAN!' _he urged himself.

"WAIT! PRUE!" he called out. Prue abruptly turned around and looked startled.

"Did I forget something??" she asked, walking back up the stairs. Ryan paused for a minute.

"Uhh...." he replied. "No.....ummm."

There was a beat of silence, and Ryan noticed that she too, wouldn't pull away from his eyes. "I was wondering.....can I take you out to dinner tomorrow?? Around 4 or 5 maybe? IF you're.....not doing anything?" he asked, with a bit of confidence.

Prue laughed and she seemed relieved. She quickly nodded. "I would love that.....but aren't you going to be at the shop?"

Ryan shrugged. "Hell, I'm the owner. I'll close early!" he said, laughing. Prue giggled and nodded.

"Call me at the hotel." she said, as she started her way back down the stairs. Ryan was left in shock, and he had an enormous grin on his face. He closed the door and leaned against the wall. This girl was different for some reason, and he wanted to find out what he was.

Prue had left his absolutely starstruck, and all he could think about was their date for the next night.

_**To be continued...........Stay tuned for Chapter 4 of Part 1.** _

**A/N:** I hope I didn't really bore you with this chapter. But....I hope that you liked Prue is involved in my story!!!


	4. Blocking the Entrance

**A/N:** Well I'm glad people liked Prue's part......I know this story's going kind of slow, but I promise, it'll get better!! Thanks for all the reviews.....hey Brooke!!! Miss talkin' to you girl! I don't really have access to an a regular internet source right now.....but I hope you're doing alright!

**Summary:** A/U fic. Starts around Season 4. Instead of going to the all the way to the alter to be intiated in as the Source, Cole sacrifices himself to save Phoebe from turning evil. He unfortunately dies in the process, and Phoebe with no choice and persuasion of the Seer, still becomes Queen of the Underworld with her baby still inside of her. Piper, Paige and Leo's failure to bring Phoebe back causes a huge impact in their lives, and they too also have no choice but to move on.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of the characters, except for those in future chapters that are not recognized. I also don't own most of the dialogue in the first two chapters, because they were taken from the original script.

**Part 1, New Beginnings:** **_Chapter 4 - "Blocking the Entrance" _**

Paige rushed through the Book of Shadows until she finally arrived the Seer's entry. "Found it." she announced to Piper.

Both were in the attic searching for ways to end this catastrophe they were in. Piper was a few feet away from Paige, at a table mixing up offensive potions that she thought would be useful to them.

"So, what's the vanquish?" she asked, not directing her attention away from the potions. Paige paused for a bit as she examined the Seer's entry.

"Crap." said Paige. Piper turned around to see Paige's frustrated look over the book.

"What? What is it?"

"The vanquish. It needs a piece of her flesh. I guess the vanquish of the Seer can't be in our game plan right now." Paige said, as she sighed heavily. "What do you have going over there?"

Piper turned back to her prepared potions. She held one vile up to show Paige. "This one duplicates my freezing power, and plus it scalds the flesh so we should only use it for.....the people that count."

"Are we supposed to use that on Cole....?"

"If we have to, to get Phoebe back, then yes."

"Are we supposed to......vanquish Cole?" Paige asked, hoping there was some other way they could turn Cole back to their side. She knew how devastated Phoebe would be if they went through with it, and also how unwilling she would be to come back to her sisters.

Piper paused, not really knowing what to say. "He's the source of all evil.....we can't just.....let him go....." she said, unsure of her answer. Paige didn't want to push the subject any further and stopped asking questions. Just then, Leo orbed into the attic. Piper and Paige looked up from their work as Leo orbed in.

"Did you find it?" Piper asked.

"Nothing....." Leo said, with bad news. "I couldn't find anything. I went down to the underworld and searched familiar places.....I tried the best I could to sense Phoebe down there, but they must have some magical block on the coronation site. "

"Great.....how are we supposed to even find her, let alone get her back now??" Paige said with frustration.

"We just have to hope that we're not too late. How's the battle plan coming?" Leo asked.

"Paige found out that vanquishing the Seer won't work for us. We need a piece of her flesh for the vanquishing potion and we don't exactly have time for that."****Piper replied. There was a beat of silence, indicating that not one of them knew what to do.

"We can't give up. We can't. This is our sister we're talking about. We've been through worse than this, guys. We're going to get her back." Paige said, trying to be of some encouragement. Opposite of his usual attitude, Leo's heart was full of doubt in this situation.

"Have we.....Paige? Have we been through worse than this.....? Phoebe is about to become Queen of the Underworld, on her own will. Something in my gut, is just telling me that we can't stop this. There's something bigger behind all of this.....like we're not meant to save her this time." Leo explained to Phoebe and Paige. His expressions were evident that he was dead serious about his feeling.

Paige glanced at Leo in a sort of shock. She couldn't believe what Leo was saying about Phoebe not being able to be saved. She looked towards Piper to see what she would do. Piper looked furious, but also hurt, not by Leo's words, but by how true he really was. Piper's eyes brimmed with tears, and they threatened to fall as she spoke.

"We have to try. She's my baby sister. We can't let him take over her." she whispered. Leo saw a tear fall slowly down Piper's cheek. Seeing Piper the way she was broke his heart into pieces. He walked over to her and knelt down to wipe her tear away.

"We'll try. I promise......we'll try." he whispered. He kissed her cheek lightly, but couldn't stop the terrified look Piper kept on her face. Suddenly, it was as if Paige had a revelation. Her eyes lit up, and she ran over to the Book of Shadows and started to flip through the pages vigorously. Piper and Leo glanced up to see what she was doing.

"Paige....what are you looking for?" Piper said, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

"Something you said.....set me off. I have an idea."

"Something Piper said?" Leo asked, confused on what Paige meant. Paige's eyes never left the Book of Shadows. She flipped through the pages while she talked.

"She said, Phoebe was her baby sister. Phoebe is our sister. We have a spell to call a lost sister." Paige said. "If I can just find it......"

"Would that actually work......?" Piper asked, standing up and walking over to Paige.

"There's no doubt that it will bring us to Phoebe. There may be a protection over the coronation, but there's something stronger than dark magic that can bring us to Phoebe."

"The bond of sisters. The bond of the power of three." Leo said, finally catching on to Paige's plan. Paige smiled, and gasped as she finally found the page for the spell.

"Here it is. To call a lost sister. You tried this when Prue died, and instead this spell brought me to you guys. This is going to work......This HAS to work." Paige said, filled with hope that it wasn't to late to save Phoebe.

"I hope you're right." Piper said, lighting some candles. She then ran to Paige, and grabbed her hand, ready to chant.

---

"Is everything ready?" the Seer asked, as she shimmered into the ceremonial site. She looked around the dark underground cave, and saw no flaw. A dark priest, covered in black robes walked up to her and bowed his head.

"Yes, my liege....." he answered. He walked over to the ceremonial table, and with a wave of his hand, the grimoir appeared in front of him. He opened the dark book to the pages he needed to initiate the source. "Everything is as you asked."

The Seer grinned, knowing that everything was going as perfect as she had planned it. "This is turning out quite nicely......soon Cole will be initiated as the Source, with Phoebe at his side. The power of three will be broken."

"How can you allow this to happen, my liege? I am still unclear on what you foresee....." the priest replied. The Seer smiled at the ingenious of her plan. She spent so much thought on it, perfecting every aspect of her plot, making sure that things that could possibly get in her way were taken care of. So far, everything that she had foreseen as a result of her actions had come true.

Of course she had known that Cole would absorb the hollow, ignorantly thinking he was doing good, to save Phoebe. She had also predicted Cole's downfall with the Source's powers, and the trickery the Source had played on the Charmed Ones, causing Phoebe to be bound to the Source by darkness.

"It is easy to understand......once the Source and his queen are in power again, the underworld will be unstoppable. Not only will the underworld be at rule by one of the most powerful witches on Earth.....but their child will bring the balance of good and evil in _our_ favor." she said.

"I see......" the priest said, going back to lighting up candles in preparation for the ceremony.

The Seer's smile never left her face. Nobody seemed to suspect a thing about her plan. Not only will Cole, Phoebe and their child be ruling the underworld, the Seer would be right there with them controlling their every move, making their every decision.

Phoebe had no business in ruling the underworld, and only agreed to her proposition because of the fact that she would have a "happy" family. Cole was weak, and only agreed to terms because of his love for Phoebe. Even if the Source's powers were inside of him, he was still naive and easy to control. Their baby would only be clay for the Seer to mold, as she raised him up as her own in gain of trust and security.

Once all three of them were left vulnerable, she would convince all of demondon to rise up against their rulers, and the Seer foresaw that they would be destroyed, and she would walk away with their powers and the position of rulers of the underworld. All it took was a little time and patience.

Then, she would **rule.**

"Oh great Seer....." the priest spoke up, interrupting the Seer's train of thought.

"What?" she asked, turning around to face the priest. Instead, she found herself face to face with the future Source of all evil, Cole Turner.

"The Source is here to see you, my liege." the priest said, presenting Cole to the Seer and walking away to do some more preparing.

"Your majesty....." the Seer said, bowing her head to put on an act of respect. "You're not supposed to be here for a while."

"Phoebe had the grimoir from the penthouse.....I thought that we needed it for the ceremony, so I thought I'd drop it off here before it started." he said, putting the grimoir on the ceremonial table.

"That was quite an act that you had there. Letting the wizard take the Source's powers for Phoebe." the Seer said slyly.

"It wasn't me. It was the human inside of me. Somehow......he took over for a second, and everything got out of hand." Cole said, cracking his neck. "I can still feel him screaming......it's like a war raging inside this body....."

The Seer noticed that Cole looked disheveled and weak. She smiled to see that the Source and Cole had no luck in winning their battle for Cole's body. "You look tired, your majesty.....I would be careful. The human may gain control again during the coronation....."

"HE WON'T." Cole shouted, revealing the short temper of the Source. "Not while I'm in this body. I WILL BECOME THE RULER OF THE UNDERWORLD. No HUMAN can stop me. No matter how much he loves my QUEEN."

"You have to calm down, my king." The Seer replied, a little startled by his outburst. "You need to save your strength for the coronation. Once you and the charmed one are initiated, there will be no need to pretend with her anymore. She will be bound to you by evil, and will be unable to escape....."

"That is the plan. What do you foresee about the child?" he asked.

"The child will be more powerful and more evil than imagined."

"No problem whatsoever?"

"Even if the child was conceived with the contribution of Phoebe and Cole's love....." the Seer admitted, "it still has yours and Phoebe's powers combined. All it needs is a little persuasion into the dark side."

"Good." Cole said, sounding relieved.

"Just let me take care of everything, your majesty. You are too weak right now to handle any of these problems....."

The Source suddenly let his temper out again. He grabbed the Seer by her arm and startled her. "IS THAT AN INSULT?!?" he screamed. The Seer rolled her eyes, tired by the Source's useless outbursts.

"Your majesty, I was just implying that you need to take care of the human inside of you. Make sure that he does not escape the hold you have on his soul." she said, wiggling free from Cole's grasp.

"I already said, that I have it under control, Seer. Know your PLACE." he said, sternly. He was about to shimmer out, but reminded himself of what he needed to tell the Seer.

"Oh, and Seer. The other two charmed ones and their whitelighter have ways of getting to Phoebe. Make sure that they do NOT disturb the coronation......" he said, not waiting before flaming out from the ceremonial grounds.

The Seer's face lit up, as she suddenly remembered that she hadn't taken care of that matter. She walked over to the grimoir, and flipped through the pages. She stopped once she reached a page filled with evil spells. She looked down at the spell, and lifted her hands to the sky as she recited the spell.

"Obstruo afectio lamiae, Obstruo afectio lamiae!"

---

"Ready?" Paige asked Piper, standing over the book of shadows. The Book was open to a page titled, "To Call a Lost Sister."

"Ready. Leo?" Piper said, looking over to Leo. "You know what you're going to do right?"

Leo nodded and confirmed their plan. His instinct and gut feeling that something bad was about to occur, had never left him, but he had no choice but to go with the plan. As her whitelighter, he couldn't just give up on Phoebe so easily. He had to make some kind of effort in order to save her.

The world of good magic was counting on it.

"Okay. I reworded the spell so the spell should bring us directly to Phoebe instead of summoning her here, since she may be protected by dark magic . When it does, Leo, sense where we are, and orb to where we are with the potions, and we'll be good from there." Paige said.

"As long as we get Phoebe back to the manor, we can work it all out." Leo said, grabbing the necessary potions in his hand.

Paige and Piper looked down at the book of shadows with a bowl of herbs and an athame near them. They took a deep breath as they got ready to chant.

"Power of the sisters rise

Course unseen across the skies

Bring to her who call her near

Bring us the power to settle there." Paige and Piper both recited in unison. They then took the athame and pricked both of their fingers and squeezed it so that a small drop of blood would mix in the bowl with the other herbs.

"Blood to blood, we summon thee. Blood to blood, take us to see thee." they both said. A second after they finished reciting the spell, the both of them were surrounded by bright white lights and seemed to blend it with them. The lights whirled around Paige and Piper, then dematerialized them into a blending cloud.

Leo watched the group of lights rise to the ceiling, praying that the spell would work and bring them directly to Phoebe. Usually things worked out for Paige, Phoebe, Piper and himself. They had found themselves in worse and more threatening positions than this, Leo kept telling himself, and somehow this would too would end up okay.

But as soon as the group of lights bounced off the ceiling, materializing Piper and Paige back onto the floor, Leo cursed his luck under his breath after another prayer failed to be answered.

"No....." Leo hissed. Paige and Piper were startled by their sudden crash onto the hard attic floor. They both got up, and Paige dusted herself off. Piper looked around the attic, confused on why they weren't in the underworld facing their sister and evil brother-in-law.

"What......What happened?!?" Piper exclaimed, in frustration. Leo shrugged and helped Piper up on her feet. Paige ran to the book of shadows and double checked if they had done everything correctly.

"I don't understand.....That spell should have taken us DIRECTLY to Phoebe. No doubt about it....there is NOTHING that interferes our bond as sisters!!!" Paige explained, more baffled than Leo and Piper combined.

Suddenly, a piercing cackle filled the attic. Piper, Paige and Leo were startled by the sudden sound, but knew who it was before she shimmered in. The Seer appeared before them with the same confident smile on her face she had left them in their last meeting.

"You...." Paige muttered in disgust.

"Where's PHOEBE?!? Where's my sister, bitch?!?" Piper exclaimed, desperate to find Phoebe. The Seer only laughed at Piper's remark.

"You witches will never find her. She and the Source have gone on to face their destiny. They will be coronated as the rulers of the underworld within the next hour." she said.

"Not while I'm still alive." Paige said, walking over to grab Piper's hand. "We'll go down there and find her ourselves....."

Paige closed her eyes and started to orb herself and Piper down to the underworld. They dematerialized into bright blue orbs but within a second, Paige realized something was wrong when her orbing wasn't taking her anywhere. She let go of Piper's hand.

"Wait....why can't I orb?" she asked rhetorically, obviously confused over the limit on her power.

She looked over to Leo, and Leo didn't know why Paige's power was restricted. _'Unless....it's not just Paige....' _he thought. He closed his eyes, and tried to orb out of the manor. He found his attempt a failure, and realized that the Seer had done something to stop them from being able to go down to the underworld.

"What have you done, Seer?!?" Leo clamored, his voice mixed with anger and confusion.

"Simple." the Seer smirked. "I merely put an enchantment on your house....I couldn't have you very well interrupted the ceremony, let alone risk you stopping it. I've gone too far in my plan for you to ruin it."

"I'll show YOU!" Piper screamed. She grabbed Leo's arm and snatched an offensive potion out of his palm and threw it violently at the Seer. There was a small explosion, but it showed no effect on the Seer.

"You really think those little potions will defeat me? I am more powerful than I was before.....eliminating me is not an option anymore.....especially when Phoebe and Cole are at rule, I will be right by their side. Your precious sister is no longer yours to protect...."

"That isn't YOUR decision to make!!! Now tell us where Phoebe is, you freak from hell....." Piper said.

"Oh, don't worry Piper. I think Phoebe already made that decision herself when she chose evil over her own sisters....." the Seer said, knowing that her words would sink into Paige, Piper ad Leo. "Don't even bother trying to go anywhere....you cannot penetrate the spell. It stays on your house until the coronation is over....."

Piper could feel her anger rising up, and she shot her hands out toward the Seer, but she had already shimmered out of the room. The explosion left a huge mess in the attic.

"NO!" she screamed. "GIVE ME BACK MY BABY SISTER."

Paige attempted to orb down to the underworld again, but she couldn't penetrate the spell. After a few times, she lost hope of orbing down to Phoebe. The sister spell didn't even work to get them to Phoebe....how were they supposed to find her now with the spell over the manor? She glanced over to Leo, who was watching Piper in horror.

"YOU BITCH!!! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME.......FIGHT ME! GIVE ME PHOEBE BACK!" she screamed, now with tears falling down her cheeks. Piper fell to her knees and broke down into tears. Leo ran over to Piper.

"Piper....." Leo said, helping her up to the attic couch. Piper sat down and buried her face into her palms.

"She's my baby sister Leo......What if the Seer was right? Phoebe made her decision on her own......I let Cole destroy her.....I let Cole lead her to EVIL." she said, through her sobs. Leo pulled Piper into an embrace.

"Piper.....don't blame this on yourself.....please....don't start to blame this on yourself....." Leo whispered.

Seeing Piper breaking down brought tears to Paige's eyes. Suddenly reality struck all of their minds. Maybe there wasn't a way to save Phoebe.......maybe she was truly lost.

Piper was about to say something, but stopped. She looked around the room, and suddenly had a dazed look on her face. "Leo.....I don't feel so good.....I feel......dizzy....." she said, turning pale.

"Piper? Are you okay?" Paige asked, noticing the change in her skin tone. Piper didn't answer, and suddenly collapsed on the couch.

"PIPER!" Paige said, running to Piper's side. "LEO! Heal her!! The Seer probably did something!!"

Leo shook his head and fixed Piper's position on the couch. Piper was knocked out, and seemed as if she were sleeping. He stroked Piper's hair, hoping it would bring her comfort in her stress.

"I can sense it in Piper.....it was nothing demonic or anything......she fainted because she was overwhelmed. She needs to rest." he said, obviously worried about Piper.

"Rest? Leo.....Phoebe is about to be coronated as ruler of the underworld......We have to find a way to stop it." she said. But she knew that there was nothing that they haven't tried.

"Paige......I don't think there's anything we can do." he whispered.

_**To be continued........Stay tuned for Chapter 5 of Part 1!**_

**A/N:** Thanks for reading guys. I promise the next chap will be more exciting!


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